


109 in the sky

by seoseouls (kihoseok)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Angst, Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, i'll update these as we go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-07 17:27:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14675934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kihoseok/pseuds/seoseouls
Summary: jungwoo really,reallyneeds a nap, a hug, and maybe the cute boy who stumbled into the gas station with a stupid nickname.





	1. the static

**Author's Note:**

> im so sorry i did this. i'll try and continue it because i really really like this au, but i have finals and honestly probably should have studied instead of writing this, but oh well.

Jungwoo knew he wasn’t the best zone runner, but he liked to think he could get by.

He lived far in the outskirts of Seoul, a beat up gas station his current home with his friend Doyoung. They had met when Better Living Industries had taken over Seoul, opting to scrounge for scraps outside the city between the zones instead of living within the cold, sterile walls of the city. Jungwoo remembered it like it was yesterday.

Better Living Industries, despite protests, had been allowed into Korea from America and had slowly begun forcefully taking the major cities. Jungwoo had watched from the television in the orphanage as Busan, Ilsan, and Daejong fell. As BL/IND and their soldiers approached closer to the city, Taeil, their housemaster, had quietly begun packing up their bags as the airwaves were slowly taken over by BL/IND.

By the time they had reached Seoul Jungwoo was thirteen, nothing but the clothes on his back as he ran from the city of Seoul, masked men firing bullets like burning hail behind him as he ran. Only they weren’t bullets, they were beams of light that Jungwoo had never seen before, but _knew_ were deadly. The image of Taeil slumping to the floor with a scorched hole in his forehead had been enough to tell him that.

He heard the thumping of footsteps behind him, along with the sickening thump of someone falling behind him. He turned to see Mark on the ground, his hand over his chest as the scent of scorched flesh and blood tickled Jungwoo’s nostrils. He stood, rooted to the spot for a moment, watching as Donghyuck screamed and dropped to his knees beside Mark, the pavement beneath them both slowly staining red. In an instant, Donghyuk’s eyes had glazed over, and it took Jungwoo a moment to register the hole through his friend’s temples as BL/IND’s grunts continued to fire.

Jungwoo had run faster and never looked back.

A year later, somewhere between Zone K6 and K7, Jungwoo met Doyoung. They had both been scrounging for food, an old convenience store their only bet. Jungwoo had screamed when he saw Doyoung, and Doyoung had promptly punched Jungwoo in the face in surprise.

When Jungwoo had come to, it took a lot of convincing from Doyoung that _no_ , he wasn’t going to kill him, and _no_ , he wasn’t with Better Living. The two had hesitantly shared the spoils of their raids on the floor of the store, both sizing each other up as they ate. Jungwoo had quickly deemed Doyoung non-threatening (now that he wasn’t punching Jungwoo in the face) just another kid trying to find their way in a post BL/IND world.

The conversation from there on out had been tentative and uncertain, both unsure of how to communicate with someone else after being alone for so long. However, after a while, the two settled into a comfortable game of 20 questions.

Jungwoo learned Doyoung was sixteen and born and raised in Seoul, his brother being his sole caretaker until the BL/IND takeover. Neither talked about what happened to the people they lived with, or why they were alone. Jungwoo supposed it was a mutual respect thing.

Jungwoo also learned from Doyoung that the masked men that worked for BL/IND, the ones that carried the ray guns (which Jungwoo also now knew, were called _zaps_ ) were Dracs, functioning like BL/IND’s own army. He also learned the ones who didn’t wear the masks, the ones who he was _really_ afraid of,  were called Scarecrows. They were BL/IND’s higher echelon of operatives, far more skilled than the Dracs that patrolled the streets. In turn, Jungwoo taught Doyoung how to pick locks, a skill he had learned after years of living with eight other boys. Doyoung’s face had lit up when he had managed to open the lock to the store’s old stash of cigarettes, both of them laughing as Doyoung put one in his mouth and pretended to blow a cloud of smoke into Jungwoo’s face.

It had been simpler then.

Now Jungwoo was twenty, much more agile and much more calloused than he was before. He and Doyoung had been traveling together for six years, both working as petty thieves to make a living. They had debated going into the city multiple times and turning themselves in when food was too scarce or one was sick and needed medicine, but had decided against it when they heard about the pills.

BL/IND had begun dolling out pills to control the population, first beginning with little yellow pills to dull the senses. Numb, it was called. They had forced anyone residing in the cities to take the pills, then giving out bottled versions of emotions: Joy, Sadness, and Calm. People popped the pills like candy, a Joy to go to work, a Calm to go to sleep, a Sadness to _feel_. Love and Hate had been strictly outlawed, but Jungwoo heard whispers about underground labs making their own versions of the BL/IND drugs, people wandering down to the basements to feel what had been taken away from them.

Jungwoo and Doyoung had resolved to stay out of the cities.

They were somewhere between zones K11 and K12, hunkered down in an old gas station as their temporary home before the dracs got too close again.

Doyoung was sprawled across the service counter of the station, an old newspaper clutched in his hands as Jungwoo swept the place for supplies. He liked to think the two of them made a good living for themselves despite looking unassuming at first glance. Jungwoo wore an old black t-shirt and ratty worn out jeans that were a tad too big for his frame with a large burlap rucksack slung over his shoulder, his small frame a dead giveaway that he was a zonerunner, anyone within BL/IND was at least given rations. Doyoung didn’t look too much different from himself, save for the old grey cap that rested on his head and the fingerless gloves he wore for hand to hand combat. Jungwoo had never been much of a fighter, instead opting for fixing up a hot-tempered Doyoung after a run in with the Dracs.

Jungwoo’s eyes lit up as he snatched up a blanket from under one of the couches within the station’s break room, his smile growing even more as he looked at the CB radio resting on the windowsill.

“Doyoungie!” He yelled, glee in his voice. “Doyoungie, there’s a radio!”

Radios were a rare commodity in the Zones, especially now. Many zonerunners opted for CB radios or some sort of analog system. Less footprint, no records, no dracs chasing after them.

“You better not be pulling my leg, Jungwoo,” Doyoung said as he walked into the break room, his eyes widening as his eyes rested on the radio. Jungwoo himself couldn’t believe their luck, it was even a crank radio, they didn’t need to find a power router to turn it on. Doyoung sprung towards the radio, immediately reaching for the crank and turning it as fast as he could. Jungwoo stood behind him, watching excitedly as the radio whirred to life, lights flickering on lethargically as Doyoung continued to crank the handle.

After about five minutes of cranking the radio, Doyoung deemed the radio charged enough before setting it down. Scanning through the frequencies was always nerve-wracking, never knowing who you were going to stumble upon. Some zonerunners were territorial, kicking you out of their land the moment they knew you were there. Others were kind and would invite you to stay a few nights with them and trade goods, but the worst was the sinking disappointment when the radio picked up no frequencies, no chatter, no people. Those days felt hopeless.

Today was not one of those days.

“-ey Young Gunner, this is Ark Pleasantry, do you copy?” A staticky, accented voice sounded from the speaker as Doyoung flipped to a channel, and Jungwoo could feel his stomach flip in excitement.

“I do,” A voice said back, this one deeper but equally as accented. “Where’s Night Lightning and Candy Hydrogen? I’m we’re getting our asses kicked over here.”

Jungwoo had heard about these types of runners, the ones who antagonized BL/IND for fun. They used nicknames often, completely random ones that couldn’t be traced. Jungwoo’s breathing quickened as he made eye contact with Doyoung, both of their eyes wide with surprise.

“They’re five minutes out,” The voice responded, breaking them out of their trance. “You’re between zones K11 and K12 right?”

“Yeah,” the voice replied, breaking off at the end to curse as the squeal of tires was heard. “I don’t have five minutes, Ark. Those damn dracs have a lot better cars than me and a hell of a lot more firepower. Diamond over here is damn close to passing out and-“ Before Jungwoo could think about what was happening, Doyoung had the radio’s microphone raised to his lips.

“Gunner I couldn’t help but hear your problem. Me and my pal here are at a gas station between K11 and K12. If you need a bit of backup, we’d be happy to help.”

There were a few seconds of silence on the radio, nothing but the crackle of static and Jungwoo could tell the men on the other end were weighing their options. Trust a stranger or fall to the dracs.

“Leave a light on for me, will ya?”

 

That’s how Jungwoo ends up cowering under the counter, a man with pink hair in his grasp as the blasts of zaps sound above his head. He hears Doyoung curse as a particularly loud thump echoes through the room, and Jungwoo dreads patching him up after the fight ends. He looks down at the man in his arms, clad in a purple jacket and dark red pants. His zap read “Cherry Diamond” in pink, cartoonish font, and had it not been on a gun, Jungwoo would have found it charming.

The tall man who he assumed was Gunner had handed the man to him before pushing the two under the counter, promptly snarling and throwing himself at the dracs.

Now Jungwoo assessed the man’s wounds. He was bleeding from his head, a large gash where the scalp had split, turning his fluffy pink hair matted with red. Jungwoo also saw what he assumed was a zap graze on his arm, but figured he’d deal with that later. Zap wounds tended to cauterize themselves.

He pulled his rucksack off his shoulder, the movement uncomfortable under the cramped counter. He extracted the remnants of an old shirt, ripping off a long piece before reaching back in and taking out a miniature bottle of soju he had pilfered from a hotel minibar.

“This is going to hurt a bit, okay?” Jungwoo said to the barely conscious man, gently moving his hair away from the gash as he opened the bottle. The moment he tipped the bottle, the man began to squirm, hissing and crying at the feeling of the alcohol burning his scalp.

“You need to stay still,” Jungwoo said, pushing the man’s shoulders down. “It hurts, but it would hurt more if it got infected.” This seemed to pacify the man as he lay back down, whining as Jungwoo parted his hair again to wrap the makeshift bandage around his head. The zap shots had grown few and farter between, which Jungwoo took as a good sign, but couldn’t help but feel anxious about from his position behind the counter.

What felt like an eternity later, Doyoung called the all clear, and Jungwoo rose from behind the counter, pulling up the wounded man as well before rushing over to Doyoung, checking him for injuries.

“I just have this one,” Doyoung said, pointing to the split on his cheek next to what Jungwoo _knew_ would turn into a black eye. He sighed as he dabbed at it with an alcohol-soaked cloth, clicking his tongue and Doyoung hissed under his touch.

“Always getting us into trouble Doyoungie, what am I going to do with you?” Jungwoo chided, no bite to his words as he wiped the remaining blood from his cheek.

“Hey uh-“ Their moment was broken by the other unknown man in the room- Gunner- looking down at them and scratching his neck. “Thanks for saving our asses from those dracs back there,” He offered up a hand, which Doyoung and Jungwoo took turns shaking. Jungwoo _totally_ didn’t swoon over how his hand engulfed his own. Totally. “Young Gunner. And you are?”

“Doyoung.”

“Jungwoo.”

Gunner quirked up an eyebrow at the two of them, clearly surprised by the lack of nicknames. “I thought you two were some of us.”

“No,” Doyoung answered "Just trying to survive."

“Ah, zonerats.” The man replied before quickly apologizing when he saw Jungwoo’s lips press into a line. “I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t fuck with BL/IND in a while. It gets to you,” Gunner gestured wildly with his hands, and Jungwoo giggled as he watched. Gunner was cute in a dorky way, something Jungwoo hadn’t expected when all 183 centimeters of him had barreled out of the car and practically thrown another man into his arms while firing at a car full of dracs. Jungwoo finally had a moment to appreciate that Gunner was _handsome_ , his jaw defined with thick lips and big eyes with chestnut hair that fell into his face.

“Jungwoo,” Doyoung’s voice snapped him out of his trance, his eyes blinking rapidly.

“Ah, yes? Sorry, I got distracted,” Doyoung gave him a knowing smirk, and Jungwoo internally cursed his friend before straightening his back.

“Don’t you think you should tend to our new friend?” And now that Jungwoo looked at him, he realized that yeah, _shit_ , Gunner was bleeding. He scuttled over to the man, inspecting his body for where the blood was coming from. He found the culprit, a zap graze along the man’s back that ran from his left side to his right shoulder. On instinct, Jungwoo took his pocketknife and cut the man’s shirt open, disinfecting the wound as the man cursed and tensed under his hands. It was only when Jungwoo was wrapping the bandages around Gunner’s broad shoulders and waist that he heard Doyoung snicker, and he realized he was half reaching around a shirtless man he had just met, and fuck, he was _hot_. But Jungwoo wasn’t willing to give Doyoung a reason to make fun of him, so he finished wrapping Gunner up, taping the bandage closed before sitting back, scuttling back to Doyoung before realizing his next problem.

Gunner was _shirtless_.

It seemed like the other realized their predicament at the same time he had, his earing turning red in a way that Jungwoo _totally_ didn’t find adorable before shifting uncomfortably on the counter. Silence fell upon the four before static crackled from the radio, the same accented voice breaking the silence.

“Gunner, if you died, _so help me God_ I will bring you back to life and kill again you myself, you hear?”


	2. system failure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungwoo wants that damn shirt _gone_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for the love on this!! i've been writing it instead of studying... oh well.

Jungwoo swore that Doyoung’s big mouth would get them into real trouble one day.

The two sat in the back of Gunner’s car, the pink haired man still unconscious in the front seat. The radio was playing some old American rock song, the heavy guitar riffs the only thing that filled up the silence of the car as they drove. Gunner had insisted on taking them back to what he called “The Nest” after Jungwoo had patched up his friend, saying it was the least thanks he could give. Before Jungwoo had had a chance to talk it over with Doyoung, the elder had already accepted, and Jungwoo hoped his wide eyes conveyed just how crazy he thought he was.

They had been driving for a while, maybe an hour by Jungwoo’s count. He had found out very quickly that you needed to learn to tell time on instinct in the zones, working clocks were few and far between when you were running from BL/IND in the wasteland. Doyoung had long since fallen asleep, his head leaning against the window that was caked in grime as the car jostled along the unkempt road. The CB radio had been silent since Gunner had informed the man on the other end that he would be bringing two ‘friendlies’ to the Nest and the two had argued in what Jungwoo thought was Mandarin before the line went silent.

Twenty minutes later Gunner pulled up in front of what looked like a school, a reinforced wire fence with barbed wire lining the top surrounding the property. Gunner let the car idle, jumping out and running up to an opening in the fence, opening the padlock chaining the gates shut before pushing them open, the screech of the metal making Jungwoo wince. Gunner ran back to the car then, driving them through the fence before getting out again to close the gate. Jungwoo felt a bit on edge being locked in a strange place, but he figured he could trust these people. You couldn’t live anywhere in the zones without protection, everyone knew that.

Gunner pulled into the parking lot, turning off the ignition as Jungwoo finally got a good look at the school. The letters at the front of the property had long since fallen off, instead replaced with the words “New Chaos Tomorrow” scrawled across the board in gaudy, bright pink spray paint. The front office seemed normal, a one-story building with a metal roof and the front room dimly lit by a string of lightbulbs that Jungwoo could see through the sparse windows. A drac jacket was hanging from the front door, stuck there with a small pocket knife with black spray paint marring the back.

At least he knew they weren’t BL/IND.

Gunner got out of the car, motioning for Jungwoo to do the same. While Gunner tried to collect the other man in the front seat into his arms, Jungwoo woke Doyoung. He was met with a soft slap to the face and a groan before Doyoung seemed to remember where they were, quickly perking up and rubbing his eyes before crawling out of the car with Jungwoo. They were met with the sight of Gunner holding the other man in a princess carry, a big dumb smile on his face as he gestured for the two to follow him. He led them past the front office, instead bursting into what Jungwoo assumed was the former gymnasium, kicking the door open and yelling “Honey, I’m home!” At what Jungwoo prayed was the top of his lungs (He didn’t think his ears would be able to survive anything and louder).

“Xuxi, you dumbass!” Was the first thing the four were greeted with, a man with the voice from the radio said, running and taking the pink haired man from Gunner’s arms before shooting the man a glare that could melt steel, oddly menacing for his unassuming face. “I’m taking him to his room now, and _you_ ,” He fixed Gunner with another glare before continuing “Have some explaining to do about how the hell you two fucked up a supply run this majorly.” A pause followed as the man stalked out of the room, parting with "For the love of god, put on a damn shirt," and Gunner absentmindedly waddled off to a tattered couch, and Jungwoo took that moment to take in the room.

The fluorescent lights glared down brightly, but Jungwoo couldn’t remember the last time he was in a room that was so well lit that _didn’t_ belong to BL/IND. There were various couches scattered around the room, accompanied by an assortment of gaudy rugs covering the linoleum floor. Various old posters hung from the walls, along with makeshift blinds over the windows that Jungwoo hoped didn’t distort the natural light _too_ much. There was a large table in the middle of the room, eight seats gathered around the sides with playing cards and various drinks covering the top. Jungwoo giggled as he saw a note that said “EAT SHIT YUTA” in large bold letters taped onto the backs of one of the chairs. This seemed to get Gunner’s attention, patting the couch across from him as he looked at the pair, probably looking something akin to lost puppies.

“You guys can come sit down, y’know. Ark is probably gonna get the others and come back soon, until then you guys can just chill,” There it was again, that _stupid_ smile and Jungwoo forced himself to push down the blush rising in his cheeks.

 

True to Gunner’s word, other men slowly began to filter into the room, the first being the voice from the radio, a scowl still on his face as he sat next to the other, hissing more things between them in Mandarin as the others began to float in. The next was another _unfairly_ tall man with dark red hair that fell into his face, black ripped jeans stretched across his legs and a white shirt that read “SUPER BROCCOLI” across the front. Jungwoo wants to burn it. After him was a shorter man with dark purple hair, but still tall and extremely good looking, and Jungwoo absentmindedly wonders if there’s an attractiveness requirement to join. A few minutes later a shorter man enters, his cropped black hair disheveled as he drops into the couch opposing them next to Gunner, a wide smile spreading across his face. He’s thin and lithe like Doyoung and Jungwoo, and he can’t help but wonder if he was a zonerunner too. All of them loosely gathered around the couches, the smaller one draping himself over the arm while poking at Ark’s face.

Ark Pleasantry finally looks up, sighing as the tall man wearing the stupid shirt claps his hands, effectively catching everyone in the rooms attention. 

“So, Gunner, are you gonna introduce us to your new friends?”

Now it’s Gunner’s turn to sigh, turning to face the room before opening his mouth, clearly choosing his words carefully. “Everyone, this is Jungwoo and Doyoung. They’re zonera- I mean runners.” Jungwoo appreciated the change in term, looking around to gauge the others' reactions. Ark still looked unhappy, while Stupid Shirt man and Purple Hair looked at them with interest. The small one looked at them with a lazy smile, clearly just there for the entertainment. “I met them today out on the supply run, Jungwoo there patched up Cherry and me when it all went south. Doyoung there helped me fight off a car of dracs, really saved my ass,” He finished, rubbing at his bandages in what Jungwoo assumed was embarrassment.

“And that brings us to how you ass needed saving in the first place,” Black Hair drawled, the smile never leaving his face as he looked at Gunner.

“Ah, that,” Gunner said, the tips of his ears reddening. “When we went to raid the drac outpost it turned out that it was a storehouse, where they keep the Numb and stuff, y’know?” He said, and the room’s attitude quickly darkened. “So Diamond and I thought we should burn it- keep them from feeding it to any other people- but turns out there were more dracs hiding in the storeroom than we thought, and they were ready. They got Diamond pretty good in the head with a pistol-whip and forced us out and on the run, and we eventually got to them,” He gestured to Doyoung and Jungwoo, and Jungwoo found himself squirming under the scrutiny of the four others in the room. “And I’m guessing Ark told you the rest,”

There was a moment of silence in the room, all five others clearly thinking as they sat. Stupid Shirt spoke first, his eyes sliding to Jungwoo. “So you two just happened to have a CB radio tuned to our frequency? And just magically decided out of the goodness of your hearts to save those two? Sounds a little far-fetched to me.”

Doyoung sighed, shutting his eyes and straightening his back in a way Jungwoo _knew_ meant he was about to start an argument, and he was just grateful he wasn’t the one who had to respond.

“We found one in the gas station we were raiding. We were scanning the frequencies and stumbled onto your dumbass,” He points at Gunner, and Jungwoo has to suppress a giggle at the shock on the man’s face “And his friend’s predicament, so we decided to help out. If we were with BL/IND we would have just let the dracs get him and found you all through transitions, not patch up your two men and let that giant baby take us into a locked facility”

Jungwoo snickers at how shocked everyone in the room falls silent, but Black Hair beats him to it, falling into a fit of laughter and rolling off the arm off the couch onto the brown carpet below. “He got your ass, Hydrogen” he gasps between giggles, tears glistening at the corner of his eyes “He got you _good_.”

Purple Hair is the next one to speak up, nudging Black Hair out of the way with his foot as he replaces him on the arm of the couch. “So you two are just zonerunners?” He asks, what Jungwoo thinks might be a Japanese accent lingering in his voice. “Why help them?”

“Because we’re good fucking people,” Doyoung retorts, eyes narrowing as Jungwoo elbows him in the side. Luckily the man snorts and shakes his head, a smile tugging at his lips.

“Those are hard to come by those days, it always throws you for a loop,” He says, and Jungwoo can’t help but agree.

“Why did you bring them here, Gunner?” Ark asks, and Jungwoo can’t help but want to pull the stick out of the man’s ass.

“I- Uh-“ Gunner scratches the back of his neck, the tips of his ears turning red. “I thought they could stay here a while, I mean they _did_ save us after all, and it’s not like they’re a threat-“ Jungwoo can feel Doyoung tense next to him, and he resists the urge to slap the other man’s arm for doing his stupid alpha male routine. “So I mean, what’s the harm?”

The room falls into silence once again, and Jungwoo can see the gears turning in each man’s head. Black Hair looks like he’s fine with it if his grin is any indicator, but the other two seem to be weighing their options.

“What about Cherry? Shouldn’t he be here for this? And what about Neon and Zap?” Ark asks, and Jungwoo can’t help but feel his mind spin at all the nicknames being thrown around.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Cherry is out of commission at the moment,” Stupid Shirt answered. “And Neon and Zap won’t care, they just want to make sure that they can still terrorize us.” The room laughs at that. Jungwoo can’t help but do a mental count of everyone who lives in the compound and finds himself at a mind-boggling 8.

“That’s true,” Purple Hair says, leaning back. “I’m fine with it. I think it would be a good idea for us to have a couple of zonerunners here for supply runs, they’re probably better than any of us.” Jungwoo feels a small swell of pride in his chest, and from the way Doyoung straightens next to him, he can tell the other feels the same way.

“I don’t like it,” Ark says, eyes narrowing. “But Lightning makes a point. And Gunner is right, we do owe them. So I’m cool with it. For now.”

“I think it’ll be fun,” Black Hair says, still lying on the floor. That seems to be about all he has to offer, judging by how he rolls over onto his stomach and begins to fiddle with the edge of the rug.

All eyes drift to Stupid Shirt, who Jungwoo assumes is the leader of the group (Unfortunately). “I agree with Lightning and Gunner,” Gunner looks about ready to jump for joy, and Ark looks somewhat pissed off. “We’ll let them stay, and it’s up to them how long they want. I know some runners like to move around.” Jungwoo can’t help but thank whatever deity is watching over him for this man.

“I think,” Jungwoo speaks for the first time, and he fights back a blush as he feels all eyes land on him. “I think that would be lovely,” He says, and before he can say anything else, Black Hair is looking at Gunner, eyes wide as he tugs at the man’s sleeves.

“Oh my god, Xuxi, he says lovely. He says _lovely_. Where the hell did you find him he’s adorable, what the fuck,” He says, and Jungwoo finds his cheeks heating up faster than the zone 8 tarmac under the summer sun.

“Moving on from that,” Stupid Shirt says without blinking an eye (Jungwoo can’t help but wonder how often this type of thing happens) “I’m Johnny, you’ll hear me as Candy Hydrogen over the CB. We only use nicknames with strangers and over communications, so don’t worry about calling me that when we talk.,” He nods to Purple Hair, who smiles so brightly Jungwoo thinks he might go blind.

“I’m Yuta, Night Lightning over the CB,” He says, and Jungwoo can’t help but smile as he offers out his hand to shake.

“I’m Ten,” The man on the floor says, his grin still not leaving his face. “Not a nickname, by the way, that’s Ravenous Daydream, I hope we can all have some _fun_ sometime” His eyes flick between Jungwoo and Doyoung when he says it, and Jungwoo finds his face bright red at the man’s forwardness.

“I’m Ark Pleasantry,” The other man says, pushing Ten’s head with his foot. “Or Kun.”

“And uh, you know me,” Gunner says, smiling hesitantly. “You can call me Xuxi or Yukhei, I really have no preference.” _Xuxi_ , Jungwoo likes that. 

Finally, Doyoung speaks up, his voice louder and more confident now. “I’m Doyoung and That’s Jungwoo, but you knew that already. And I think we’ll take you up on that offer.”

 

Two hours later Jungwoo finds himself in Gunner- _Xuxi’s_ room. The other has set up a cot in the other side of the room for him, fitting blankets over the bed and Jungwoo can’t help but try and remember the last time he slept in an honest to god bed. Doyoung was dragged away to sleep in Ten’s room, much to the elder’s dismay. Jungwoo had snorted and muttered ‘serves you right’, to which Doyoung had screamed: “FUCK YOU”.

Now he sat in the dark with Yukhei, both of them not asleep in the slightest as Jungwoo stared up at the ceiling.

“Jungwoo?”

“Yes?”

“Are you awake?”

“What do you think?”

He hears Yukhei sigh and roll over in the bed, flicking the lights on.

“Sleeping problems?”

“You get them when you’re out in the zones,” Jungwoo replies, shaking his head. “Sleep quick and light. You gotta move fast.” He tries not to dwell on the times that dracs had stormed in on him and Doyoung as the two slept and instead focuses on Yukhei’s hair (Which was now sticking up in an ungodly amount of directions.)

“Makes sense,” Yukhei replies, and Jungwoo is surprised when Yukhei rises, plopping himself down across from Jungwoo on the cot. “Wanna play twenty questions?”

Jungwoo barks out a laugh, a little stunned. “Where did that come from? Are we 12?”

“Yes,” Yukhei replies, and Jungwoo laughs again. “Now ask me a question.”

“Okay,” Jungwoo says, smiling. “When were you born”

“January 25th 1995\. What’s your favorite color?”

“Yellow,” Jungwoo replies, and can’t help but rejoice in the fact that he’s older than Yukhei. “What did you eat to become so tall?”

They both fall into giggles at that, Yukhei’s big smile infectious as they both hunch over laughing, and Jungwoo can’t remember the last time he felt this _normal_.

“Lots and lots of beanstalks,” Yukhei replies, and Jungwoo can’t help but dissolve into another fit of giggles. “What did you eat to become so short?”

“Shut _up_ ,” Jungwoo whines, shoving Yukhei slightly. “You’re just abnormally tall, that’s hardly fair!”

Yukhei laughs again, raising his hands in surrender. “Alright alright, I’ll lay off,” He says, but Jungwoo still keeps the scowl on his face for good measure.

“To answer your question, I have a perfectly fine diet, asshole” He sniffs, deepening his scowl before breaking it in favor of his signature friendly smile. “How long have you lived here?” He asks, and Yukhei smiles again.

“About five years now. Johnny and Taeyong- That’s Cherry Diamond- gathered up a group of us and took us down here to set up shop, and it’s been home ever since,” The fond smile never leaves Yukhei’s face, but there’s a sadness behind his eyes that Jungwoo somehow feels responsible for causing. “How long have you and Doyoung been an item?”

Jungwoo sputters at this, his cheeks turning red for the nth time that day as he fumbles for words. “We’re not- we’ve never- what?!” Jungwoo says, and Yukhei quickly realizes his mistake.

“I’m sorry, I just assumed-“ Yukhei said, and Jungwoo waved him off.

“It- it’s fine,” He says, waving his hand. “We’ve been traveling together for… a while. I see how you could think that” Yukhei relaxed, and Jungwoo could still feel the heat in his cheeks. “Besides, I think your little friend might devour us both alive,” He said, thinking back to Ten.

“Oh god,” Yukhei groaned, a hand covering his eyes. “I’m so sorry about him. He’s a minx, he’ll hit on anything with a pulse.” Jungwoo giggles again, something he seems to be doing a lot around Yukhei, his hand covering his mouth.

“It’s okay,” He says, his voice jovial. “It’s funny to watch Doyoungie squirm,”

They continue like that for a while, asking question after question back and forth before Jungwoo’s eyes began to droop, a yawn leaving his mouth.

“How did you and Doyoung meet?” Yukhei asks, and Jungwoo can’t help but marvel at how their questions went from trivial to autobiographies. He relayed the story of how he had met Doyoung in the convenience store, sharing their food and becoming fast friends over an old loaf of bread and old bag of chips. Yukhei listened intently, laughing at how Doyoung had given Jungwoo a black eye out of sheer panic before settling back down.

“How did you meet Taeyong and Johnny?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at Yukhei, a sleepy smile playing across his lips.

“They found me getting the shit beat out of me by some dracs,” Yukhei says, an odd softness in his eyes like he found getting beat up by dracs some sort of a fond memory. “They pulled them off me and dusted me off and took me in, and a few years later we were here.” He smiles, sprawling himself out across Jungwoo’s cot. Yukhei was lying down, his feet dangling off the edge while Jungwoo sat at the end of the cot, Yukhei’s ankles the right of him. It was a tight fit, but they made it work.

“What did you do before you met Doyoung?”

“I scrounged for foot mostly, I was a city rat, I begged and stole before the dracs pushed out non-BL/IND citizens from the city. Taeil told me to get out of the city, but I didn’t listen,” Jungwoo found himself getting choked up, remembering his old housemaster and how he had cared for him and his brothers at the orphanage. “He ran the orphanage I was at before BL/IND came in. The dracs uh,” He paused, swallowing the lump in his throat. “He was collateral damage when they took the city. So were all the other kids at the orphanage. I was the only one who got out,” He couldn’t pinpoint why he was telling Yukhei this, maybe it was the sleepiness fogging up his brain, maybe it was the exhaustion from the day, but he felt as if Yukhei could understand.

The room was silent for a moment after Jungwoo’s confession, Yukhei’s eyes sad as he looked at the other. The man extended his arms out to Jungwoo for an embrace, and Jungwoo took it gladly, a silent tear slipping down his face as he lay down in Yukhei’s arms, the other man’s heartbeat audible from his position. Exhausted, Jungwoo allowed his eyes to slip shut.

He told himself he cuddled Yukhei closer for heat.


	3. keep your boots tight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long to publish. i had finals and then went on vacation where i had no wifi. im sick now but writing is just about the only thing i can do rn. fever brain me thinks this is good, so i hope y'all like it.

Jungwoo woke up to a long arm wrapped around his waist, Yukhei’s breath tickling the back of his neck as the first rays of burnt sunlight were drifting through the curtains of his room. The younger man practically wrapped himself all the way around Jungwoo, and he can’t help but winder if Yukhei is some sort of space heater disguised as a human. He wiggles his way out of the sleeping man’s grip, smiling at the way sleeping Yukhei tries to hold onto him.

As he steps out of the room, he belatedly realizes that he has no idea where to go. He could walk down to Doyoung and Ten’s room, but he still isn’t quite sure about how the black-haired man would react. He has no doubt Doyoung would be happy to see him if last night’s events were any indicator, but he’s still unsure if he wants to risk entering the room. He supposes he could walk around the compound, but he has no idea where he would go, much less where to go to sate the growling in his stomach.

“What’re ‘ou up s’early for?”

Jungwoo starts at the voice behind him, whirling around only to be met with a sleepy Yukhei, rubbing his eyes with the blanket still draped around his shoulders. They stay like that for a while, Jungwoo just staring dumbly at the tall man in front of him while Yukhei rubs the sleep from his eyes while he tries to formulate a proper response, because _goddamnit, no one should be able to look that cute when they just wake up._

“You don’t get up this early too?” Jungwoo says lamely, eyes looking anywhere but Yukhei’s form.

“No,” Yukhei responds flatly, hand reaching up to fix his hair.

“Oh,” Jungwoo says quietly, and he stares at his feet as an awkward silence descends on the pair. (Awkward for Jungwoo at least. He’s fairly certain Yukhei is too tired to even grasp the concept of awkwardness)

“I can take you down to the kitchen, y’know,” Yukhei says after a while, sliding the blanket off his shoulders before throwing it back onto the bed.

“That would be great,” Jungwoo says, and soon he finds himself back in the same gymnasium as before, this time in the attached kitchen as Yukhei opens various cupboards in an attempt to find something edible.

“Why’d you wake up so early,” Yukhei complains, and Jungwoo can’t help but find the other’s whining cute. “This sucks.”

Jungwoo shrugs, eyes glinting with laughter. He had grown used to waking up early with Doyoung, getting up to move and make the most of daylight as soon as dawn broke. He supposes it must be easier when you have artificial light at your disposal and a permanent home, you didn’t have to take advantage of every single moment of daylight.

Eventually, Yukhei pulls out a box of what Jungwoo assumes is cereal, filling a pitcher with water before adding powdered milk and mixing the two together. Jungwoo couldn’t remember the last time he had cereal if he tried, let alone with milk. Sure, powdered milk wasn’t as good as real milk, but only high up officials in BL/IND could afford such luxuries. The cereal was BL/IND brand, plain cornflakes with a small spray of sugar but Jungwoo couldn’t remember the last time he’d even dreamed of cereal. In the Zones, you usually took what you could get and didn’t think of the past.

Yukhei took their pitcher and box to the large table in the center of the room, giving Jungwoo the bowls and spoons to carry before rushing off to find him a chair. He returned a few seconds later with a folding chair like the others, setting it up next to his before patting the seat, signaling Jungwoo to sit down. He thought of mentioning Doyoung would need a chair as well, but thought that was a battle for another day.

Yukhei poured their bowls in silence, and Jungwoo dug in as soon as he had finished pouring the milk. He smiled around his mouthful, closing his eyes as he savored the food. He had long ago learned to savor what he had. He gulped it down quickly afterward, careful to not let it become too soggy or let any piece go to waste. After he had finished, he drank all the milk from the bowl, finishing with a satisfied sigh as he leaned back in his chair. He heard Yukhei chuckle beside him, but couldn’t find it in him to care.

“How did you get that?” He asked, eyeing Yukhei as he continued to slowly eat.

“We have a friend on the inside,” He said, offering Jungwoo a small smile. “His name’s Jaehyun. He works in food distribution so he sneaks us stuff from time to time,”

Jungwoo wants to ask more, like how they could manage to sneak food from BL/IND’s notoriously sharp eye or how they knew Jaehyun, but he keeps his mouth shut. He knows better than to ask questions and hit a possible nerve.

“Than you,” He muttered, eyes fixed on his bowl. “Thank you for all of this.”

Yukhei’s hand lands on his shoulder, and Jungwoo can _feel_ the man’s smile. “It’s no problem,” He says, and Jungwoo shouldn’t find his voice so comforting (spoiler alert: he does). “You saved Taeyong’s life,” _Taeyong? So that must have been Cherry Diamond._ “Hell, you probably saved my life too. So it doesn’t matter okay? We’re glad to have you guys here.”

Jungwoo looks up at Yukhei and offers him a small smile and an even smaller thank you, the other man smiling what Jungwoo thinks could light up an entire city.

Their moment is abruptly interrupted as two people Jungwoo doesn’t recognize barrel into the gymnasium, one immediately shrieking “Is it true you brought more people back Gege?!” in what Jungwoo thinks is a volume no one should be able to achieve that early in the morning.

“Yeah, I did Chenle,” Yukhei says, and the two boys abruptly stop when they see Jungwoo. One has stark blonde hair, and the other has ashy brown locks. They don’t look any older than kids, and Jungwoo’s heart inadvertently breaks in his chest.

“Is this one of them?” Ashy hair asks in accented Korean, and Yukhei nods.

“Hi?” Jungwoo tries, waving his hand at the two. He can feel them sizing him up, gauging his every movement to see if he’s a threat or not. He feels his heart break that children had to learn to live like that.

“Gege, he looks like a teddy bear,” The blonde one says bluntly, and Jungwoo chokes on his own breath.

“Chenle!” Yukhei chastises, but he’s laughing so it has little effect.

“What? It’s true!” Chenle says, raising an eyebrow as he lets out a dolphin like laugh. Ashy hair just looks like he wants to be anywhere but there, but that could just be Jungwoo projecting.

“Be nice,” Ashy hair scolds quietly, and Chenle rolls his eyes.

“This is Jungwoo,” Yukhei says, and Jungwoo waves once again at the pair. “Nice to meet you,” He says, and Ashy hair greets him likewise.

“Gege, really?” He doesn’t look like he could hurt a fly!” Chenle says, shaking Yukhei’s arm as the other has the decency to look mildly mortified with the child’s behavior.

“Chenle!” He scolds again, swatting the child away. “He helped me and Taeyong-hyung escape a drac horde okay? He and his friend helped us a lot and can help us get more supplies until you and Renjun can do runs for yourselves. Not everything is muscle you know.”

Chenle laughs again, a sound which Jungwoo isn’t sure if he loves or hates. “That’s funny coming from you, Gege,”

“Oh, can it,” Yukhei replies, ruffling the kid’s hair as he screeches, running off to the kitchen with Ashy hair trailing close behind.

The pair is silent for a moment before Yukhei sighs, pushing away his long-forgotten bowl of cereal. “Sorry about them,” He says, and Jungwoo suppresses a giggle. “They’re… energetic.”

“It’s okay,” He says, snorting as he hears a clatter from the kitchen followed by screaming in Mandarin.

“How… how old are they?” Jungwoo asks hesitantly, eyes fixed on his hands.

“Chenle is sixteen and Renjun is eighteen,” Yukhei explains, and Jungwoo feels like crying. He went through the invasion as a teen, he couldn’t imagine going through it as a child. Yukhei must see it in his eyes because he lays a hand on Jungwoo’s shoulder reassuringly again before dropping it.

Then Doyoung stumbles into the room with Ten trailing behind him, screeching for Jungwoo before catapulting himself across the room.

That was the end of that, Jungwoo supposes.

 

 

They spend the rest of the day being given the grand tour of the school by Yuta, who Jungwoo find agreeable if anything. The shows them the rest of the small gang’s rooms, which are all emptied classrooms much like Jungwoo and Yukhei’s. The front office, Jungwoo learns, is used as a sort of strategic building where most of the meetings are held. The theater is used for communications and storage, and Jungwoo can’t help but marvel at their collection of CB radios and various electrical parts. What used to be the school’s central lunch area had been transformed into a garden of sorts, various plants and vegetables growing in the upturned soil. Jungwoo couldn’t help but admire what they had set up.

 

Jungwoo had sat in the garden for a while with Doyoung, both of them tending to the plants carefully. It was amazing, Jungwoo thought, that they could have a whole garden out in the Zones. The sun that beat down on his back through the day didn’t seem to matter as he and Doyoung worked, such a simple activity feeling like a godsend.

Eventually, he ends up back in his shared room with Yukhei, back against the cot as he curls up beneath the blankets. It feels odd to relax, to not have the pressing threat of dracs or other runners bursting into his haven whenever he closed his eyes and to not have to worry about where he would go next. It felt odd but it felt… nice. It felt nice to be surrounded by people again, it felt nice to be fed something that wasn’t garbage and expired food. It felt nice to not worry about whether he would be alive or not if he closed his eyes. It felt nice to be able to sleep in a bed and have real, thick blankets surrounding him. It felt nice to have a tall somewhat destructive man who at least seemed to care about him and want him around, but he wouldn’t let himself go down that road.

Not now.

 

_Jungwoo sat at the table in the orphanage, Mark and Donghyuk play fighting next to him as he helped Taeil crack the walnuts for that night’s dinner. Sicheng was upstairs watching the triplets, their thumping footsteps echoing through the old house. A news story droned on in the background, noise Jungwoo had long learned to tune out since BL/IND had invaded Korea. Taeil handed him another nut and he smiled at his housemaster, thanking him before setting about cracking it and placing it in the bowl. Just before he could be handed the next nut, however, a knock sounded at the door._

_Taeil pushed Jungwoo father back into the room, telling Mark and Donghyuk to tell Sicheng to keep the triplets quiet. This had become routine, the tense atmosphere whenever the doorbell rang or the sounds of marching boots came through the streets._

_Taeil cracked the door, and Jungwoo could tell by the paling of his face that it couldn’t be anyone good._

_“Hello sirs,” Taeil said, his voice even as he stared outside. Jungwoo had abandoned his walnuts in favor of creeping towards the door, trying to get a glimpse at who was outside._

_“No, it’s just me here,” Taeil said to whoever was outside, and Jungwoo could see his hand trying to subtly swat Jungwoo away._

_“We have reports that this is an orphanage. We were given instructions to take all residents to a Numbing Station, do you mind if we have a look inside to verify your claims?” A muffled voice said, and Jungwoo sees Taeil’s face really pale then. Even thirteen-year-old Jungwoo knows when to leave, so he scampers upstairs as quietly as he can, joining his other brothers in the attic._

_Jisung, Jeno, and Jaemin are all crowded behind Sicheng in the dark, their large doe eyes shining with fear. Mark and Donghyuk are holding hands, curled next to Sicheng as their eyes dart to Jungwoo._

_“What is Taeil-hyung doing?” Sicheng asks quietly, looking as panicked as Jungwoo feels._

_“There’s someone at the door and I think they’re going to search the house,” Jungwoo says, trying to keep his voice from trembling in front of the younger children._  
“Are they here to Numb us?” Jisung asks, and Jungwoo forces a smile onto his face.   
“No, they’re just making sure we have nothing bad in the house,” He lies. He can tell Sicheng sees right through him, and even Mark and Donghyuk think he’s full of shit, but no one says anything. Jungwoo’s explanation is better than the alternative.

_Footfalls echo throughout the hallway under them, and Jungwoo can hear the triplets begin to whimper with the beginnings of tears. He turns to hush them but already finds Sicheng holding their hands and wiping their tears, begging in a quiet yet steady voice for them to be quiet despite the fear twinkling in his eyes. Jungwoo can hear his own blood roar in his ears as the footsteps pass underneath them, and the attic is silent. Jungwoo isn’t sure how much time passes, but when he finally lets go of the breath he was holding as the footsteps fade, his head spins. He hears the footsteps retreat back to the front door and Taeil begins speaking, and before he can even blink Jisung is somehow at the attic door worming his way through quietly calling for Taeil, and Jungwoo lunges after him._

_He doesn’t blame Jisung, these types of things are terrifying. There’s a reason Taeil only confided in Jungwoo and Sicheng when things were becoming too stressful. The triplets had frequent nightmares of being taken away, and no one wanted to worsen them._

_As Jungwoo followed Jisung he could hear the other children following him, probably thinking Jungwoo leaving was the all clear. He tried in vain to usher the other five back into the attic while he followed and quietly called for Jisung, the youngest of the seven toddling ahead to where Taeil stood at the door. Jungwoo felt panic rise in his veins as they neared the door, his quiet calls for Jisung increasing in urgency and desperation the closer they became. He could see Taeil wasn’t immune either, his face paling as he stood in the doorway talking to the strangers._

_“Jisung, come here,” Jungwoo hisses, reaching out to grab his little brother in vain as the smaller boy continues to walk towards Taeil. “ **Jisung** ,” he pleads, making another desperate grab for his brother as he walks closer and closer. _

_“Taeil-hyungie?”_

_Jungwoo’s blood freezes as Jisung speaks, his eyes going wide as he watches all the blood drain from Taeil’s face and the strangers outside fall silent. He takes the opportunity to grab his little brother and slap a hand over his mouth, shushing him as he squirms._

_“I thought you said you were alone, Mr. Moon?” Says one of the strangers, and Jungwoo mentally curses himself as cold dread settles in his stomach. Jisung still hasn’t stopped squirming, and Jungwoo mentally thanks his older brother for teaching him to wrestle before he got adopted as he holds the younger._

_“I am,” Taeil says, his voice slightly shaky. “It must have been one of the neighbor’s children.”_

_“I doubt that,” Says one of the strangers, and Jungwoo feels his stomach sink. “You wouldn’t mind us taking a more in-depth search of the house would you?”_

_“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Taeil says, and Jungwoo sees the housemaster’s eyes blow wide as something plastic is pressed to his head._

_“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, Sir,” Says one of the voices, and Jungwoo’s blood turns to ice as Taeil turns his head to him before screaming one word._

_“Run!”_

_A moment later a hole bores its way through the housemaster’s head, and Jungwoo screams as he watches Taeil slump to the ground in a heap. The scent of burnt hair and flesh fills his nostrils as he stares at the corpse of what used to be his housemaster crumpled on the floor, eyes glazed over and head hanging at an unnatural angle._

_He only snaps out of his stupor when he sees one of the strangers enter the house, clad in all white and holding what look to be guns. They wear white masks with black hair sticking out of the top, red painting their mouths like blood. Jungwoo momentarily thinks that this must be what a demon looks like._

_He turns tail and runs, following Sicheng and the others out the back door as footsteps thunder behind them. He turns down the street, screaming for someone to help them as he hears his brothers run behind him. As he looks back he only sees Mark and Donghyuk following him, Sicheng and the triplets sprinting the other way down the street. He grabs his brothers’ hands and runs as fast as he can, screaming for someone, **anyone** to help them. He sees people peek through their curtains and doors crack open, but every time Jungwoo makes eye contact with them or asks for help, they disappear like shadows. _

_He feels Mark stumble behind him and continues to pull the boy along, screaming at them to just keep running. He can see the beams of light whiz past him and pulls the boys closer to him as he feels the searing heat of a beam graze his ear._

_His heart is pounding in his ears and he resists the urge to stop running as the burn in his legs becomes too much, his lungs screaming as he feels his brothers lag even further behind him. He panics as he feels Mark’s hand slip from his, turning around only to see his little brother with a hole burnt in his chest, his tiny hands gripping at his singed shirt as he squirmed feebly on the ground and tears poured from the corners of his eyes. Jungwoo resists the urge to vomit as he gazes at his little brother, horrified. Donghyuk drops to his knees beside Mark, screaming “Hyungie no!” at the top of his lungs as he tries to lift Mark up with his small arms. The next thing Jungwoo registers is Donghyuk’s eyes rolling into the back of his head as he slumps over his brother, and Jungwoo belatedly realizes that it’s because of the hole in his little brother’s head._

_Jungwoo vomits._

_He wipes his mouth, turning back to see the men are quickly approaching and runs, he runs with tears streaming down his face as he prays for forgiveness for leaving his brothers, for not saving Taeil when he had the chance. He runs until his legs give out underneath him, and Jungwoo lays in the street, staring up at the bleak sky above him as he gives in to his fate. He has no tears left to cry, not for himself anyway._

_The men never come._

_Jungwoo lays in the street until the sky turns dark, thunder rumbling in the clouds above as the night rain pelts against his burning skin. He screams, a mournful sound of devastation and hatred that sounded wrong even to his own ears. He screams for Taeil, for Jisung, Jeno, and Jaemin. He screams for Mark and Donghyuk, he screams for himself. He screams over the crash of the thunder above, cursing himself for not being able to help his brothers. He screams until his voice gives out, his throat burning and raw as he lays in the street and-_

“Jungwoo!”

Jungwoo bolts upright, a scream caught in his throat as he looks wildly around the room, eyes finally settling on Yukhei’s face as he tries to calm his breathing. He feels sweaty and _gross_ , the hot tears drying on his cheeks only serving to make him even more repulsed with his current state.

“Are you okay?” He faintly hears Yukhei ask, and he nods as his cheeks burn in shame. Normally only Doyoung saw him when he had nightmares but _this_ … this was humiliating. He feels weak, vulnerable as Yukhei looks at him with pitying eyes.

“I’m fine,” Jungwoo mutters, wiping his eyes before settling back into his blankets, trying to avoid Yukhei’s eyes.

“Are you sure?” Yukhei asks, and any other day Jungwoo would have preened at the caring gesture, but now he just wants this to be over. He wants to go to sleep and pretend Yukhei hadn’t seen him crying and screaming in the middle of the night over years old memories, he just wants to pretend this never happened.

“I’m fine,” Jungwoo repeats, this time harsher than before. He feels Yukhei slide off his bed and sighs in relief, burrowing further into his covers as the taller man turns out the light.

They sit in silence for a while, the darkness enveloping them as Jungwoo tries in vain to sleep.

“I used to get them too,” Yukhei says, and Jungwoo screws his eyes shut. “I got them for a long time after BL/IND came. I would dream they were bursting into my house and taking me and my family all over again. I would dream I had never escaped the Numbing Station and was stuck as a shell forever,” Yukhei pauses, and Jungwoo burrows further into his blanket cocoon. He wills Yukhei to be quiet because he just wants to _sleep_ , to forget this ever happened but the other doesn’t comply. “They’re nothing to be ashamed of or brush off. I mean, I still get them too,” Yukhei says, and Jungwoo mentally curses whatever god decided to make him roommates with a talkative puppy.

Long after Jungwoo drifts to sleep Yukhei is still rambling, secretly hoping his voice would chase away all of the elder’s nightmares.


End file.
